Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ

That same morning, Ben-Hur becomes acquainted with Ilderim’s horses. A pair of letters from Simonides arrives. In the first, Simonides asks Ilderim to assist Ben-Hur in whatever way he can. In the second, Simonides warns Ilderim that Maxentius will arrive in Antioch later that day and advises Ilderim to have his men search all couriers coming and going from the city. After putting the horses away, Ben-Hur asks Malluch to find out the race’s rules and to measure Messala’s chariot, particularly how high the axle is off the ground.

That evening, Iras invites Ben-Hur to a boat ride on the lake. When he joins her, she asks him to call her “Egypt” instead of her name. She begins to talk of Egypt, praising it as a land of universal happiness. After a time, she asks Ben-Hur to tell her of the Roman who nearly ran her and her father over. Ben-Hur does not wish to discuss Messala and affects ignorance of him despite Iras’s persistent questioning. After she desists, he encourages her to tell him stories of Egypt. She tells him a long story about a beautiful young woman married to an elderly Pharaoh which deals with the nature of love and whether there is a cure for it. After that, she promises to send him her colors to wear at the games.

The next day, Ilderim’s men bring him one of Messala’s letters to Gratus. Ilderim cannot read Latin and calls for Ben-Hur. At that moment, a stranger appears and offers his services as a chariot driver. Ilderim politely refuses the stranger, who is a spy for Messala.

Ben-Hur continues his training of Ilderim’s horses. He cautions Ilderim to guard his horses and chariot well until the race, worrying that the Roman will try to gain an unfair advantage. Ilderim asks Ben-Hur to read Messala’s letter to him. When Ben-Hur comes to the portion of the letter concerning his mother and sister, he breaks down crying in despair, thinking them both to be dead. Ilderim excuses himself so that Ben-Hur may read privately. As Ben-Hur reads further, he is relieved to find that Messala does not know whether Ben-Hur’s family is dead, and his hope is rekindled. Upon finishing reading the letter, Ben-Hur alerts Ilderim to the danger he is in from Maxentius. Ilderim is furious and reveals to Ben-Hur that he knows Ben-Hur’s identity. Although Ilderim will not explain how he knows Ben-Hur’s identity, Ben-Hur assures Ilderim that he desires vengeance against Rome just as much as Ilderim. Ilderim leaves for Antioch but promises all the aid he can for Ben-Hur’s plan of training and arming rebels in Judea.

As he waits for Ilderim’s return, Ben-Hur wanders and ruminates. He is still unconvinced by Balthasar’s conception of the Messiah’s role. Malluch arrives, summoning Ben-Hur to Simonides’s home in Antioch.

Simonides, Ilderim, and Esther are waiting for Ben-Hur. Simonides formally acknowledges Ben-Hur’s identity and his right to his father’s former property. Simonides now produces a paper formalizing his relationship to Ben-Hur and legally returning the property to him. Simonides explains the accounts, showing how he grew the 120 talents of the Hurs’ into nearly 700. Ben-Hur thanks Simonides and tells him that he should retain all the property except for the original amount. Simonides expresses his gratitude but reminds Ben-Hur that both he and his daughter are legally still enslaved. Ben-Hur immediately frees them. Simonides explains that his form of slavery does not permit manumission and instead asks to be made steward of the Hurs’ estate.

At dinner, Ben-Hur learns that Malluch has been serving Simonides all along. Simonides relates how he also met Balthasar and the other wise men when they were searching for the infant Messiah. Ben-Hur asks Simonides what he thinks of Balthasar’s conception of the Messiah. Simonides cites Jewish prophecy and scripture to reassure Ben-Hur that the Messiah will lead the Jewish people to political freedom. As the discussion with Simonides continues, Ben-Hur resolves to desert the army and stay in Judea to train its people in anticipation of the Messiah.

The next evening, a galley departs Antioch with an agent Ben-Hur has sent to dispose of Arrius’s estate. With his formal connection to Rome severed, Ben-Hur now has no choice but to commit himself to his plan. Esther joins him and says that she is afraid of Rome. She asks Ben-Hur about Arrius’s estate outside Rome, and he tells her it is exceedingly beautiful, but he realized that the luxury and peace of Arrius’s villa were “silken chains” (264). She questions his choice of a life of danger and violence over one of peace and comfort. He explains that he was not safe in Rome and that Gratus and Messala would have eventually found a legal trick to ruin him. Moreover, he cannot find peace while Judea is occupied and his family is lost. Ben-Hur, as he has before, compares Esther to Iras. They are opposites both in body and personality, and Esther reminds him of his sister.

The day before the race, Ilderim’s encampment is struck and sent into the desert. Malluch brings Ilderim and Ben-Hur information about the race. Malluch mentions that the Romans in the city are giving heavy odds for Messala to win, so Ben-Hur instructs Malluch to entice Messala and his friends into making heavy bets. When Malluch tells Ben-Hur that the spoke of Messala’s chariot is a full palm higher than Ben-Hur’s, Ben-Hur is ecstatic.

In a tavern, Messala and his supporters are making bets with each other for everything but the chariot race, all of them believing that Messala will win. A man wearing Ben-Hur’s colors, Sanballat, enters the tavern—he has heard that Messala can find no takers for his wagers and has come to do so. Sanballat pressures Messala into accepting six-to-one odds and a wager of six talents. Sanballat then offers the Romans a collective bet of five talents that Ben-Hur will win. To preserve the Roman’s honor, Drusus accepts the bet and guarantees it.

A massive crowd pours into the Circus the morning of the race. An extended description of the Circus and the crowd follows.

Ahead of the chariot race, Simonides, Balthasar, Esther, and Iras arrive. The charioteers begin to line up by the starting line, and Iras comments to Esther that Messala is as beautiful as Apollo. The race begins, and Messala successfully takes the inside track. Within the first lap, though, Ben-Hur has pulled even with the Roman.

Once Messala spots Ben-Hur alongside him, he shouts, “Down Eros, up Mars!” (286) and viciously whips Ben-Hur’s horses. Ben-Hur’s grip is too strong, however, and he does not lose control. The crowd turns so sharply against Messala that he doesn’t try to do it again. Finally, as they turn into the final stretch, Ben-Hur clips the wheel of Messala’s chariot with his own chariot’s axle. Messala’s chariot is overturned, and he is run over. Ben-Hur speeds forward, the clear winner.

Ilderim thanks Ben-Hur for winning with his horses and promises to give Ben-Hur whatever aid he can in the future. Malluch tells them that both Drusus and Messala have gone to the consul Maxentius to try to renege on their wagers. Malluch then brings in a messenger from Iras who congratulates Ilderim and invites Ben-Hur to meet her at the palace of Idernee the next day. Ben-Hur accepts the invitation, and Ilderim departs after his caravan.

The following day, Ben-Hur arrives at the palace of Idernee. He finds himself waiting in the atrium for a long time and begins to grow suspicious. He discovers that the door through which he entered is locked. He deduces that Messala has arranged to have him killed. At last, the front door opens, and a group of Northmen enter. Ben-Hur recognizes one of them, Thord, and tells Thord that he was his pupil in Rome. Thord is doubtful, so Ben-Hur proves it by fighting his companion. Ben-Hur knocks down his opponent with a single blow which Thord recognizes as a particular trick of his. Thord tells Ben-Hur that Messala sent him to kill Ben-Hur. Ben-Hur pays Thord off, and they disguise the dead Northman as Ben-Hur. Ben-Hur returns to Simonides who pretends to look for him, allowing Messala and Gratus to believe that the assassins were successful. Ben-Hur now leaves for Jerusalem to look for his family.